Pvt. Millard L. Raymond, d. 1899

Little is known about Millard Raymond's life except for
what is in the public record. He was 23 or 24 in
April 1898 when he enlisted in the 1st U.S. Volunteers
Cavalry (the "Rough Riders") in Santa Fe, New Mexico
[1]. The regiment was being raised by Theodore
Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, to
fight in the Spanish-American War in Cuba. After
the battleship Maine was blown up in Havana harbor (by
whom has never been proven), Roosevelt wanted to strike
a lightning blow against the Spanish in Cuba before they
had time to reinforce the Cuban garrisons with more
troops from Spain.

Owing to the fact that the Civil War had ended 32 years
prior, most U. S. soldiers and officers had had no field
experience and were ill equipped to go into battle
without extensive training. The only exception was
cavalry units from the Southwest, who had seen action
against the Apaches as recently as the 1880s.
Roosevelt believed that men from Texas, Arizona, New
Mexico and Oklahoma would not need much additional
training since they already knew how to ride and shoot
and were used to a hot climate. Accordingly, he
mobilized the 9th and 10th Cavalry units (the "Buffalo
Soldiers") and began to recruit another regiment of
cowboys, prospectors and other Westerners, later known
as the "Rough Riders".

Many more men volunteered than could be used. All
who were accepted met Roosevelt's rigorous
standards. To officer them, Roosevelt recruited
several fine young athletes from eastern colleges.
The 1st U. S. Volunteer Cavalry was to be commanded by
Roosevelt's good friend, Colonel Leonard Wood, a surgeon
who was capable in the field as well. Roosevelt
himself was commissioned a lieutenant colonel, to serve
under Colonel Wood [1].

Millard Raymond was assigned to Troop F, commanded by
Captain Maximilian Luna [1]. Luna had asked to
serve because he wanted to demonstrate that
Spanish-speaking native New Mexicans were solidly behind
the American war effort. Owing to Luna's fluency
in Spanish, he was eventually assigned to Colonel Wood's
headquarters in Cuba, where he acted as an interpreter
[1].

The Spanish-American War was quick and not particularly
bloody. The Rough Riders shipped out in April and by
August, Spain had sued for peace. Disease took the
greatest toll. Forced to abandon their horses for
lack of Navy vessels to transport them, the Rough Riders
slogged through sugarcane fields during the humid
tropical summer. What uniforms they had were made
of scratchy wool and utterly unsuited to the
tropics. Their rations consisted mostly of
hardtack and canned goods. All the troops lost
weight. Fresh meat was practically impossible to
obtain and went bad overnight for lack of
refrigeration. Without mosquito netting, the men
fell prey to malaria in droves. In spite of
Roosevelt's best efforts (he had been the public health
commissioner for New York City), he estimated that at
least half of his fighting force was down sick at any
one time. Such must have been Millard Raymond's
experience of the war.

It is not known how or why Millard Raymond came to
Arizona after he was mustered out. Perhaps he had
formed a friendship with the Arizona men in his troop or
planned to settle there. However, recurrent bouts
of Cuban fever (probably malaria) prevented him from
working.

In January 1899, he decided to return to Ottumwa, Iowa,
where he had relatives. He got as far as Maricopa
before he fell ill again. He was taken to the home
of Mrs. C. H. Bury for medical attention but died a few
days later [2].

His parents being too poor to have the body embalmed and
shipped home, Millard Raymond was buried in the City
cemetery with full military honors [2]. The GAR
veterans turned out for the funeral [3], and six of his
companions from the Rough Riders acted as pallbearers
[4].

The original wooden marker erected over his grave listed
him incorrectly as "Raymond Miller". That marker
deteriorated and was eventually replaced by a regulation
veteran's marker. On the second marker, his name
was spelled correctly but his military unit was wrong
[6].